Tiffany and Bridget over at Bridget's Botaicals. We trade struggles, insights, and production hacks—collaboration over competition, always.

If you run a refillery—or you’re thinking about opening one—it’s totally normal to feel a pang of panic when you hear that a new zero-waste or botanical shop is opening nearby.

But here’s the truth most people don’t learn early enough:

A new refill shop isn’t automatically new competition. More often, it’s the thing that makes your business stronger. And when you collaborate instead of bracing for impact, you can both grow faster.

A Downtown Littleton Example: Why Bridget’s Botanicals Makes Us Better

When Bridget’s Botanicals opened just a couple blocks from Juniperseed Mercantile, we could have easily slipped into scarcity thinking. Two botanical formulators, same neighborhood, similar customer base—it sounds like overlap.

But instead, Bridget and I became friends. We collaborate. We serve together on the Littleton Merchants Association board. And we refer customers to each other all the time.

Because what looks like competition is usually two businesses filling different needs.

The way we describe it, Bridget is a botanist who specializes in herbal medicine, education, and her signature wellness remedies. I am a chemist with a preference for natural ingredients, and I specialize in zero-waste micro-manufacturing and everyday body care.

Our strengths are different. Our audiences overlap beautifully. And the presence of both shops signals to customers that Downtown Littleton is a place where plant-based and low-waste living is normal, supported, and expected.

Two aligned shops don’t split demand.  They grow it.

What Actually Happens When More Refilleries Open

In practice, more refill or sustainable shops in your region lead to:

1.  More awareness. Customers begin seeking out refill options intentionally.
2.  More trust. Referrals between shops build immense credibility—people return to businesses that don’t gatekeep.
3.  Faster innovation. Sharing ideas, suppliers, and troubleshooting saves time and money.
4.  Stronger margins. Co-buying ingredients, splitting freight, and reusing materials lower your COGS.
5.  A healthier movement. Your real competition isn’t the refill shop down the street. It’s Amazon. It’s convenience culture. It’s the systems that make sustainable shopping harder than it should be.

Working together is how we shift that.

So How Do You Thrive When a New Shop Opens?

Here’s what actually works:

1. Introduce yourself early. A warm welcome sets the entire tone of the relationship.
2. Share select knowledge. Suppliers, packaging options, sourcing wins, event insights—you don’t have to share everything, but a little goes a long way.
3. Co-promote or co-create. Workshops, cross-referrals, seasonal bundles, or joint events build both audiences.
4. Lean into specialization. You don’t need to both carry everything. Your unique strengths become clearer when you stop trying to match each other product for product.
5. Think like an ecosystem. More trees make the forest stronger. More refill shops make the movement recognizable.

If You Take One Thing Away, Let It Be This:

You don’t have to “win” against the refill shop that opened nearby.
You can both win by building something bigger than either shop alone.

Refilleries don’t lose to each other—they lose to convenience and apathy.
And the way we push back is together.

Want systems that help you grow without burning out?

I created a course that teaches the lean, sustainable strategies I use to help refill shops stay profitable—without overproducing, overbuying, or overworking. It’s built from decades of experience so you can skip straight past the trial-and-error years and grow with confidence.

👉 The first module is free to preview - Get it here.